Towards the Enhancement of the Mediterranean Diet

Under the patronage of H.E The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Ghazi Zeaiter, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon, and the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science at the American University of Beirut (AUB) held an inception workshop to launch the regional project: Towards the Enhancement of the Mediterranean Diet: The Case of Lebanon.

The launch was attended by Ms. Mariam Eid representing H.E the Minister of Agriculture, The Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saade, and the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science at AUB, Dr. Nahla Hwalla. Guests included participants from various Lebanese Ministries, institutions, and universities, experts from FAO and AUB faculty, students and alumni.

Mediterranean diets have been associated with reduced incidence of various chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, mental health, and some types of cancer. They have also been identified as examples of sustainable diets. This project, funded by Italy, aims to generate evidence documenting whether and how Lebanese and Tunisian dietary consumption patterns have moved away from the traditional Mediterranean diet, in order to develop policies and interventions that guarantee a healthy diet for all. The results of this project will make an essential contribution to improve our understanding of the production, availability, access to, and consumption of foods that are part of the traditional Mediterranean diet, within a country specific context.

Representing H.E the Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Mariam Eid assured the Minister’s commitment to the project and its objectives. She also hoped that the results of this project are capable of better informing the decisions of all key stakeholders, in both public and private sectors, including policy makers, and development specialists in the aim of ensuring higher quality nutrition to all people. 

In his turn, Dr. Maurice Saade, the FAO Representative in Lebanon expressed concern over the increase of obesity in Lebanon especially for its associated non-communicable diseases, which is due to profound societal changes such as urbanization, increased availability of prepared and processed food, as well as westernized eating habits. Dr. Saade highlighted that “FAO has been a leader in the area of defining and promoting sustainable diets, and reaffirmed “FAO’s commitment towards the eradication of hunger and the prevention of all forms of malnutrition worldwide” which makes the “protection and promotion of the Mediterranean-style diets a strategy in line with international and national strategies and priorities”.

Dr. Nahla Hwalla, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, introduced the AUB team that is collaborating with Ministry of Agriculture and FAO in conducting the project’s research. Her presentation also addressed the project deliverables in Lebanon and confirmed that the “Mediterranean diet is proven to be healthy and sustainable”.

After a series of presentations from AUB, FAO, and the Ministry of Agriculture’s experts, an interactive discussion was held where participants shed the light on the challenges as well as the needed strategies for the successful implementation of the project.